


Up Around The Bend

by SoMuchForSubtelty



Category: Cyberpunk 2077 (Video Game)
Genre: And so is V, Angst, Corpo V (Cyberpunk 2077), Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Judy in love is a mess, Judy's POV, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 02:20:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28627929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoMuchForSubtelty/pseuds/SoMuchForSubtelty
Summary: V is helping River with an abduction case that is personal to him, their only clue a rather strange braindance. Luckily V is dating the best BD editor in the city.Or how to make Rivers questline a lot less awkward for everyone involved with a lesbian V.
Relationships: Judy Alvarez/Female V
Comments: 13
Kudos: 276





	1. Peter Pan

The buzz from the holo woke Judy up. " _Who the fuck_..." She'd been working on a BD 'till the early hours of the morning, and was now justifiably angry that someone had disrupted her well deserved sleep. That anger quickly subsided after she saw who was calling.

"Mornin' V."

"Hey Judy."

The merc had cleary just woken up herself, her eyes still half closed, mouth curled upwards in a sleepy grin. Even with yesterdays makeup still on she still looked like a million eddies to Judy. The background looked unfamiliar, like a cheap motel room, or maybe a trailer.

"Why you callin' me so early? Sun's barely even up." Judy said with feigned annoyance. Honestly if she had to be woken up Judy was glad it was her. That didn't change the fact that she hated when someone kept her from sleeping though. She could see a ping of guilt in V's eyes that was quickly replaced with her usual determined look.

"Yeah, sorry... Listen, need your help with something." That woke Judy up quick. " _She needs my help?_ " she though to herself.

"Remember River, the badge I told you about?" Judy remembered something about the Peralez gig that she had recommended V for.

"The one honest cop left in the NCPD?" " _Believe it when I see it._ " Cops in this city were little more than just another gang. A gang that answered straight to the corps at that.

"That's the one. Working a case with him, got this BD. Pretty strange one. Luckily I remembered that my output happens to be the best BD editor in the city." V flashed a cocky smile at her. " _Her output._ " Somehow just hearing her say that made Judy all warm inside. She really knew how to push her buttons.

V continued "Could really use a pair of expert eyes on this, mind if we swing by your place?"

"Sure, fine, bring it here. We'll take a look." Going back to sleep no longer an option, Judy started to crawl her way out of bed.

"Thanks Jude, you're the best. Be there in a bit." V smiled and gave her a little wave.

"Mhm." The call closed. " _Guess I gotta find some clothes, make coffee._ " Judy thought absentmindedly as she rummaged for something to wear. " _She looked like she could use coffee._ "

  
Less than an hour later Judy was nursing a cup of coffee in her kitchen when the door opened. Even though she had given V access to her place she still felt a bit anxious when someone else opened the door. But that unease was quickly replaced with elation when she saw V walk in in all her punk glory, a satisfied smirk on her face. It took Judy a second to even register that there was another person behind the merc, which was odd given that the man standing in the corridor would have usually been hard to miss. Almost a head taller than V and about as wide as the door he'd walked through, the badge sure gave out an intimidating aura. Though his outfit said more private huscle to some underworld bigshot than cop. Honestly the whole getup just screamed stereotypical renegade cop from some show to Judy. Guess it had it's uses.

"Hey Jude." All it took was a couple of words from V for Judy to completely forget his presence.

"Hi mi calabacita. Made you some coffee."

"Ohh Judy you're a lifesaver." V purred, turning towards the kitchen, but then, as if remembering something turned right back.

"Oh right. Judy, River. River, Judy." After the world's shortest introduction V was back looking for a cup.

" _Well this is awkward_." "Hi River" she said to the figure still standing in the corridor, clearly not knowing what to do with himself. Judy motioned to the stools on the other side of the kitchen table. "Come on, sit down."

"Thanks. Sorry for just barging in on you like this." The voice was gravelly, but softer than Judy was expecting. River took a seat at the table, almost slouching over it. Judy could clearly see something was weighing heavily on his shoulders.

"Ok, so what's this about? What's so important we gotta do it this early in the morning?"

V, having found her favourite cup piped up "River, you wanna explain? Oh, did you want coffee?"

"No, I'm good. Thanks." The answer came out almost like a heavy sigh. "Right, where to begin?" River stared into nothingness for a moment before continuing. "Seen the news about Anthony Harris, or Peter Pan as the media labeled him?"

"Yeah, got caught with a half dead teen in his car or something? Cops think he might be behind more than just the one abduction." Judy did not like where this was going. The atmosphere in the kitchen felt heavy. She braced herself for what was coming next.

"The kid they found, he..." River fell silent for a moment again before steeling himself "He was wearing my nephew's shoes." And there it was. This fucking city...

"Fuuck..." was the only thing Judy got out as a response.

"The force is getting nowhere fast with finding the kids, as usual. Not like any of them were from rich families." Judy could hear the bitterness in Rivers voice. Maybe V had been right about him. "So I figured it'd be better to seek outside help for this. Thankfully V agreed to help."

V, who had managed to get her coffee and sit down on the table, opposite to Judy, gave a small pat on Rivers shoulder. "That's what friends are for right? Besides, owe you one for that shitshow at the BD club." Judy hadn't heard about that one but now was not the time to ask.

"Speaking of BD's, said you had a strange one for me?"

It was V's turn to explain "So the perps in a coma after getting shot, can't really interrogate him. But, we managed to get him dreaming." A small smile appeared on V's face as if knowing that was all that was needed for Judy to connect the dots.

"Shit, you got a dream BD? Always wanted to get my hands on one." Even with the heavy subject Judy could barely hide her excitement. "I mean the corps have been guarding that tech like the equipment was made out of gold."

"Knew that'd get you on board." V wasn't even trying to hide her smile. "The crime lab already did a once over on the scroll, separated what looked like memories from just random dreams. Now all we gotta do is find some clues in those memories." Said with her usual confidence, as if it was the simplest thing in the world to find something usuable in the dreams of a coma patient.

Judy took a deep breath."Well this day got a lot more interesting than I expected." She got up from the table, motioning for the two others to follow her into her den. "Aight', let's get you set up then, ready to dive into the head of a psycho."

  
One frankly wierd BD session later V and River were frantically combing through what they had found, leaving Judy time to process what they had just seen. _"I know beggars can't be choosers, but still wish my first dream BD would have been something a bit lighter._ " A familiar school, memories of a horrible childhood, disturbing cartoons and images of kids strapped to tables that Judy hope she could one day forget.

"Edgewood Farm, that's where they gotta be." River's voice, mixed with triumph and worry brought Judy out of her thoughts. 

"Ok, so that's where we're going." V, confirming that the clues fit. Both of them got up in a hurry. "Thanks Judy!" V said, clearly in a rush.

"No problem, just be sure to tell me how it went." Judy was happy to have been of help, but couldn't hide the slight sadness in her voice that V was leaving as fast as she had arrived. Hearing this V suddenly stopped, turned around and bowed over Judy's sitting form. One hand on the chair, the other cradling Judy's cheek she brought her face close to Judy's. She had a gentle smile on her face that Judy had only seen a few times before. "Thank you." Barely a whisper escaped between her lips before she placed them on top of Judy's as if to accentuate the point.

Neither of them wating to be the one to end the moment it took a small cough from the doorway for the two to separate. V pulled back looking a bit embarrassed, though not as bad as River looked like by the door. After a moment she fixed her gaze back to Judy. 

"Need to go. I'll come by later to tell you what happened. Promise." A small "ok" was all Judy managed to respond with. With a final smile V turned around and rushed out the apartment, River in tow, leaving Judy alone with her thoughts. " _Goddamn that woman, gets me going like that and then just leaves_ " she thought, smiling to herself all the same. " _Guess sleep is still not an option_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After sitting through the awkwardness that is Following The River for a 3rd time as a lesbian V an idea on how to make it slightly less so started to form in my head. At some point the idea of "well V's dating a BD editor, why not show the dream BD to her? Surely an expert could be of use. Plus, that way V can accidentally establish to River that she's off the market" popped into my head and this story formed following that thread.


	2. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> V is hurting, Judy does her best to help.

Judy stared out her window into the street below. The day was getting dark and her thoughts darkened with it. V had promised to come back to her after the farm, surely it shouldn't take this long? She started to anxiously pace in a circle by the window, looking out every rotation. Sure, V was a badass merc with enough chrome to fight a small war by herself, but that didn't make her invincible. Her mind wandered to memories of V appearing at her door, half dead after the whole Voodoo Boys debacle. " _Dunno if I could take that now that we're actually a thing._ " she thought, not improving her mood in the slightest.

As she wrestled with her thoughts she suddenly spotted a familiar, matte black Type-66 driving down the road. Parking next to her van the driver got out and walked into the building. Judy leaned on the kitchen table, waiting for the door to open. Waiting to give her input a piece of her mind for making her worry. That idea disappeared though once she saw her. V walked in with none of her usual brawado, she was almost dragging herself in. She didn't look injured, thank god, but... defeated.

"V... what's wrong?" V looked up, and as soon as she registered Judy's presence her expression went from sorrow to relief. Before Judy could realise what was happening V had practically lunged herself onto her. Their lips locking V kissed her with such intensity that Judy had to take a few steps back to keep herself from falling over. She pushed V off her. "The fuck?! What's goin' on with you?" "Tell you after" was the answer she got as V returned to kissing her. " _After?_ " she thought as she suddenly felt V taking her overalls off her. " _Oh_."

Some time afterwards they were laying naked on Judy's all too small bed, still sweaty and out of breath from their lovemaking. " _No, I suppose that was just straight fucking_." Judy corrected herself. She turned to her side, facing V. 

"That was... intense."

"Yeah... sorry." V was laying on her back, staring at the celing.

"No no, I kinda liked it." She gave a small kiss on the lotus flower V had tattooed on her shoulder.

"Kinda liked it a lot"

V turned her head to face her, smiling tiredly. She slipped her arm under Judy to pull her closer.

"Well, guess we gotta try it again some day." There's that flirty tone, made Judy all mushy on the inside.

"Guess we do." She flirted back.

They laid there awhile, enjoying the closeness. But Judy had too many questions to just enjoy the silence.

"Gonna to tell me what that was about?"

V turned her head back to stare at the celing, but Judy could feel her arm trying to pull her closer.

"I dunno." A short silence. "I guess..." Another silence.

"You guess..?" V turned her gaze back to Judy, a more neutral expression on her face.

"I guess I needed to feel that there was some good left in the world."

"Needed to feel... you."

Judy buried her face between V's shoulder and head to hide her cheeks turning bright red.

"You gonk."

"Better not catch you talkin' to some other girl like this." That got a laugh out of V, much to Judy's delight.

"You won't, don't worry."

"Hmpf, that's what you say now." She tried to sound offended, but couldn't suppress her own happiness from coming out. V let out another short laugh.

They stayed like until Judy became conscious of the sweat drying on her.

"Gonna take a shower. Coming with?"

  
Judy was sitting on the couch as V finally stepped out of the bathroom, wearing nothing but a slightly too small towel wrapped around her. Judy let out a small whistle, to V's confusion and amusement.

"What, you've seen me naked."

"Yeah, but a lil' mystery adds to the hotness." V shook her head while laughing a little, then walked to the kitchen.

"Makin' tea, want some?"

"Sure, thanks."

After finishing in the kitchen V walked to the couch with two cups, giving one to Judy before sitting down next to her.

"Wanna tell me what happened?" Judy asked.

"You sure you wanna hear? It's a bit heavy."

"Asked, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did." V sipped on the tea before putting it down, and started talking.

"So we got to the farm to find the place a deathtrap. Mines, turrets, traps, you name it. No idea how Harris could afford it all."

"Broke into the farmhouse to look for a way to shut the defences down, found his terminal."

"I skimmed through his messages, and..." V turned to look at Judy with an expression that she couldn't place.

"The man was a fucking monster." 

"The messages were from kids looking for... I dunno... some hope in this fucked up world, someone to trust, someone to tell them that it was ok to feel what they were feeling, and that fucker..." Judy could hear V's voice breaking. She put her cup down so she could put her hands on V's legs.

"It's ok, V." V's body, that had tensed up as she was talking slowly relaxed.

"Anyway, got the defences down, found a way to the barn and..." She trailed off into silence again, looking past Judy at the wall.

"River's nephew?"

"Found him, got him off the machines that he was hooked up in. River called in the cavalry."

She turned to look at Judy. "That's what took me so long, badges and their red tape."

V took a long breath before continuing. "Randy's at the hospital, should make it. So are two of the other boys we found alive."

"But we were too late to save the fourth."

Saying it out loud seemingly released what strenght she had left, and she leaned back on the couch, staring up. Judy curled up on the couch next to her, wrapping her arms around her.

"I'm sorry V."

"Keep telling myself it wasn't my fault, that we got there as fast as we could."

"Still hurts." 

Judy, looking at V's face could see tears forming on the corners of her eyes.

"I mean how fucked is that? I kill people on a regular basis, but failing to save one kid hits me this hard?" A sad laugh escaped V's lips.

"It's because you care mi amor. A rare thing in this city"

Judy leaned her head on V's chest. "What made me fall for you in the first place."

After a moment of silence V turned to look at her. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. Had you pegged as just another merc first, only in it for the money and glory." She lifted her head so she could see V's face, to gauge her emotions.

"I mean, sure, you were a total smokeshow when you walked into my den with Ev" That got a smile out of her. "but I figured that was all there was to you."

"Know what you're tryin' to do here Alvarez." V looked at Judy, somewhere between sadness and joy.

"And what would that be?" Judy smiled back.

"Trying to make me feel better"

"And? Is it working?"

"We'll see." More on the joy side.

"But yeah" Judy continued "you pullin' Ev out of that scav XBD studio, carrying her here with that concerned look on your face. Could have tried to get the intel you needed out of her right there, but you didn't."

"And then after Ev... left, you kept checking if I was alright." It was Judy's turn to look gloomy, but she quickly shook it off.

"Anyway, how's a girl not suppose to fall for that?" She pulled herself up to give V a kiss.

They sat there in silence for a while, at some point remembering the tea cups they had. After those were emptied Judy got up.

"We should go to bed. It'll be a new day tomorrow." She pulled V up off the couch.

"Yeah, ok." V responded yawning.

"Judy?"

"Mhm?" Judy looked at V to see that same gentle smile she had seen in the morning.

"Thank you."

"Anytime."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Using my "canon" V here for the few descriptions there are about her.  
> On the Input/Output thing, don't think there's anything official on how that works in non-het relationships, beyond Judy calling herself V's output at one point, so I went with the Dom/Sub interpretation. Or Taker/Giver. Kinda hard to know what the intent is when using invented slang.


	3. Out for Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> River invites V and Judy to dinner at his sisters. Judy braces for the worst, but isn't about to let V go on her own.

It had been a couple of days since the Peter Pan case, and life had returned to as normal as it got with the two. V was out there doing gigs while waiting for her ex-'saka contact to call about their next move, and Judy was working on BD's at Lizzie's. V hadn't visited Judy's since that night, but she called every now and then to tell her she was fine. Or to tell her about all the crazy shit she had gotten herself into. Judy just hoped she was getting some sleep, and not running on caffeine and stims like usual.

The door to her workplace opened, and Judy turned her chair to see one of the other moxes walking in, holding a BD shard up between her fingers.

"Hey girl, got another one for you from Jig-Jig Street." The blue-haired mox said with a cheery voice.

"Thanks Rita, put it on the table. I'll take a look after I'm done with this one." " _Work work_."

Rita placed the shard down, and leaned against the table.

"So, how's it going with that merc of yours?"

"Just fine, thanks." The answer came out a bit more annoyed than she had intended. Stupid defensive reflex when people were nosy about her personal life, even if it was a friend.

"It's just that you've been locked in this cave of yours for multiple days now, barely even going home to sleep. Me and the others are getting worried." There was genuine concern in her voice that made Judy relax a bit. "Just tell us if we gotta go kick her ass." Said with a wink.

Judy sighed. "It's nothin' like that. She's just busy with work so I'm busying myself with work."

"Ah ok. Still, you should come out for air every now and then."

Judy figured that was that, but the other girl made no effort to move. As she looked at Rita's face she could see a glint of mischief in her eyes.

"So you two scrolled a BD yet?"

"Don't go there Rita." Judy warned.

"I mean the way you look at each other, the emotional track alone would make a ton o' eddies, never mind the smut." Her friends smiling face started to annoy Judy.

"Fine, you really wanna know? Yes, we've made one. No, you can't see it. So there." Judy stuck her tongue out at Rita. That scroll was staying firmly in her private collection, reserved for when the separation from V got too much.

"Aww, you're no fun" Rita answered with a laugh, before turning to leave.

"Later Judy."

"Later." " _Right, back to work_."

  
Judy was putting the finishing touches on the BD when her holo buzzed.

"Hey V, was just thinking 'bout you."

"Oh, and what were you thinking about, exactly?" She seemed to be in the badlands, Judy could see the desert behind her.

"Take a guess."

"Something about me not wearing clothes?"

"Know me too well." They just smiled at each other, V seemingly forgetting the reason why she had even called. " _Guess I gotta break the moment_."

"So what's up?"

"Oh, right. River called, wanted to invite us for dinner at his sisters. Joss, said sister, wants to thank us for saving her son."

"Me too?" Judy blinked with surprise.

"Yeah, apparently he told her 'bout us, and how you helped with the case so Joss extended the invitation to you too."

"Hmm, go to a family dinner with unknowns that's certain to be awkward, or let V go alone?" Not really a question.

"Aight, when?"

"Tomorrow, pick you up at your place at around three?"

"You know, you could just come over tonight, we could leave together tomorrow." With a clear invitation in her voice so that V couldn't miss the hint.

"Would like that." She answered with a similar tone before switching back to her usual one. "But can't. Gotta wait till dark to try and bust this one gonk out of a detention center. Client wants no bloodshed so gotta do it all sneaky. Would be really late before I got there."

"Well, guess you'd just have to sleep on the couch then." Judy failed to hide the dissapointment in her voice.

"Oh, ouch. Sorry Jude, make it up to you next time. See you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see ya." The call ended.

" _What did I just agree to_?"

  
Judy woke up the next morning to find a line of discarded clothes in her apartment leading to the couch. On it lay a half-naked V, soundly asleep. She moved next to the couch and started prodding her with her leg, arms crossed.

"Wake up you useless excuse of an input."

After some poking V half-opened her eyes and a satisfied smile formed on her still asleep face.

"Mornin' Jude."

"Mornin' my ass. You know I was just kiddin' about the couch, right?"

"Didn't wanna wake you"

"Uh-huh." She let out a deep sigh. "Want breakfast?"

"Sure. What time is it?"

"Just past ten, we still got time before we gotta leave."

"Oh, good." With that, V started to switch sides.

"Oh no you don't. You're gonna get that ass of yours to the shower, and then you're gonna keep me company." Judy commanded, half serious, half laughing at V's sorry state. It was rare to see her tank this empty, and Judy was going to take every ounce of enjoyment out of it she could.

"Fine, fine." V slowly got up from the couch and started dragging herself to the bathroom.

"When did you get so bossy? Sound like Johnny." Ah, the devil on her shoulder.

"Well, maybe Johnny has the right idea every now and then." V just flipped the bird at her as she went past as a reply, and then another one at the empty table.

  
A few hours later they were in V's car, driving to the outskirts of town for the dinner.

"So what do you know about this... Um... River's sister?" Judy had totally forgotten her name.

"Joss? Not much really. Only met her once, and she was under some heavy stress at the time."

"Single mother of three, deadbeat ex-husband walked out on her, that's about it"

"Wait, three? Sayin' there's gonna be kids there?"

"Yeah, her two youngest, a boy and a girl. Why, don't like kids?"

"It's not that. Just don't know how to behave around them."

"Yeah, me neither. But we're strangers, so hopefully can leave interracting with them to River and Joss."

V turned the car off the road to a trailer park and started looking around.

"It was around here somewhere... Ah, there it is."

Judy could see two trailers next to each other in an L formation, a makeshift outdoors kitchen with River stirring a pot and two kids playing around the yard. River gave them a wave as he noticed them approach.

V parked the car and turned to Judy. "Here we are. Ready?"

"Retreat still an option?" Judy answered, only half joking.

"Nope." They got out of the car. As they walked towards River the two kids started running their way. The girl got to them first, the boy staying back a little.

"Hey!" The girl greeted them with a wave. "Hi! How's it goin'?" V greeted back with a small wave of her own.

"Is this your girlfriend?" The girl asked, looking at Judy. "Sure is." V confirmed.

Judy knelt down. "Hi, I'm Judy. What's your name?" "I'm Monique. That's Dorian, he's my brother." Pointing at the boy "He's a bit shy." "Am not!" came the answer.

"Kids, stop bugging the guests, go play or something!" River shouted from the yard. The kids looked at each other, shrugged and gave V and Judy a wave before running off. The two continued towards River.

As they got close the air was filled with the scent of spices and boiling vegetables. "Glad you two could make it. Food'll be ready soon." River welcomed them while stirring. 

"Somethin' smells good." Judy hadn't realised just how hungry she was. V nodded in agreement. "What's on the menu?" "Jambalaya. Give me a hand?" "Sure. Whatcha need?" V, always ready to help.

"V, you stir the pot for a while so I can cut up more stuff to add. Judy, if you could get the rice from the kitchen." He nodded towards one of the trailers. "And tell Joss to come out while you're there."

"This an ancient Ward family secret?" "Uh-huh. Onions, paprika, thyme..." Judy could hear the two exchanging small talk as she entered the trailer. Even though the place wasn't too large it looked... homely. Judy could see drawings on the walls, toys laying on the floor. She followed the voice of a woman to where she hoped the kitchen was. Going around the corner she saw a woman talking on the holo, pacing in the kitchen. She waved at Judy.

"Listen, I gotta go, got guests. I'll call you later, ok? Bye." The woman ended the call and held her hand out. "You must be Judy." Judy shook her hand. "Yeah. Take it you're Joss?" "Yup. Nice to meet you." Joss smiled. "Thanks for coming. Wanted to get the chance to thank you all for getting my Randy back."

Judy was starting to feel embarassed. "Ahh, that was all V and River, I just helped a bit."

"Still, if you hadn't... If Randy had..." Joss looked away for a moment before turning her head back towards Judy. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." " _Knew this was gonna be awkward_."

"Right. Now that that's out of the way, was there something you needed?"

"Oh yeah, River wanted the rice, and to tell you to join us outside."

"Ok, just a sec..." Joss started to look around the shelf with a number of boxes on it. "Ah, here it is." She grabbed a box off the shelf. "Let's go."

As they walked outside V and River were both intently working over the food, V stirring and River adding more ingredients to the pot. V was the first to notice their approach. "Oh hey Joss. Lookin' good."

"Think so? Good to see you V." Joss turned towards River. "Got your rice."

"Ah, excellent timing. Add enough for five." Joss went to pour in the rice. "Ok, now this has to bubble and brew. Anyone want a beer?" Three confirms later River grabbed the beers from a cooler behind him and gave them out. "Feel free to grab more from there if you want."

After they took their first sips River turned to face Judy. "Listen' Judy, mind if I borrow your girl for a moment?"

"Hmm, depends. Whacha' plannin' on doing with her?" Judy asked with a purposely overly inquisitive tone.

"Just talk, promise." River laughed.

"Aight, off you go then."

"Thanks. V?" The two moved to the patio, leaving Judy and Joss to look over the food.

"So, how's Randy doing?" 

"Still in the hospital. Physically he's gettin' better, but I think he's still in shock." Joss looked understandably worried.

"Luckily Biotechnica's footin' the bill, so he's getting the best treatment possible."

"How come?" The suits usually didn't give a rat's ass about charity cases like this.

"The farm was technically theirs, were just renting it to the sick son-of-a-bitch, so they're now doing a big media push to distance themselves from the whole thing." Joss' voice gained a mocking tune. "To show they care."

She sighed. "Honestly, think they're just doin' it hoping the families wont sue." She looked off into the distance. "But I don't care about all that. Just want my son back."

"Anyway, how 'bout we talk about something less serious. Tell me a little about yourself."

"Um, whatcha wanna know?"

"I dunno, what do you do for a living?"

"I edit BD's."

"Oh cool. Anything I would have seen?"

"Depends. How much porn do you watch?"

Joss froze for a moment before laughing. "Ah, I see. So that kinda BD's"

"Ayup." Judy smiled back. It was fun seeing peoples reactions when she told them what she does.

"Well I guess there's a big market for that."

They continued to chat like that, talking about work and how they were both originally from outside Night City until Judy suddenly felt a pair of arms enveloping her waist from behind.

"Gonna go play a game with the kids, wanna join?" V asked, resting her head on Judy's shoulder for a moment.

"Nah, you go ahead and have fun."

"Aight." V gave Judy a little kiss on the neck, then moved to the table where River and the kids were pulling out the gear for their game. She picked up a toy gun and inspected it like it was the real deal.

"How'd you two meet?" Joss asked, pulling Judy's attention away from her lover.

"Hmm? Oh, through work. She needed to get some intel off a BD."

"What, how big someones cock was?" Joss laughed, and Judy soon followed.

"Not that kinda BD. The boring, regular kind. Client was a choom of mine, helped as a favor."

Judy took a moment to reminisce, and to think how to summarise what had happened.

"Some time after that I found myself in a dark place in my life, and V helped me out. And then I literally pulled her out of a dark place." She smiled to herself remembering their first date.

"Sounds like there's a story there."

"Yeah, but you'll have to ask V about it. There's some things there she doesn't like to talk about." Things that Judy didn't like to think about either.

"Understood. Well, we should prolly set the table, food should be ready soon."

"Mm, been waitin' for this. This his speciality or something?"

"What, River's? First time ever I've seen him cook." Joss laughed before stopping. "Oh, but don't tell him I told you. Think he wanted to impress his new chooms."

"Your secret is safe with me."

  
The dinner went much less awkwardly than Judy had feared. Mostly just a lot of small talk. Apparently the kids had won their game against the grownups, though judging by V's and River's faces Judy gathered that might not have been the whole truth. Seeing how V and Judy talked to each other Joss took every opportunity to poke her brother about how he should find someone to share a similar connection with already, to River's clear annoyance. The jambalaya turned out pretty good as well, especially when considering it was made by a beginner. The group merrily chatted until the sun started to set.

"Think it's time we started heading inside, it's gettin' late." Joss said to her childern.

"But mooom." "No but's, inside. Off you go." "Aww." Came the answer in unison.

"Judy, V, was great seeing you. You're always welcome to visit if you're in the neighbourhood."

"Thanks for having us Joss." V answered as Joss made her way inside behind her kids.

River stood up from the table. "You two follow me, got something to show you."

They followed him up a nearby hill, and then to the top of a water tower that was there. The view of the city was breathtaking from there, all the lights and life contrasted by the darkness surrounding it. River motioned for them to sit with him on the edge of the tower.

River was the first to speak. "I sure do love this view. Find it calming. Come here when I want to think."

"Got something for you V." He handed her a revolver.

"Your piece?" Judy could hear the surprise in V's voice.

"Had her a long time. Too long. Think it's time she found a new owner."

"Dunno what to say..."

"Just promise you won't blow your foot off."

"Oddly specific request." Clearly there was a story there.

"Joss's husband. Drunk. This very spot."

"Which made this your special spot. Family landmark?"

"Somethin' of the kind." They all chuckled.

"But seriously River, why are you givin' me this?" V turned her attention back to the gun.

River too a deep breath. "It's like those cop shows." His voice turned a couple octaves lower, as if to impersonate someone. "Your gun and your badge Ward, you're outta the force!"

He continued with his normal voice. "Guess this is just my way of makin' it official."

"Huh. So what are you gonna do now?"

"Dunno. River Ward, Private Investigator. Has a nice ring to it, dontcha think?"

He got up, motioning for the two to stay seated. "But right now, I've got a couple of cases of beer and some tequila stashed in Randy's trailer, gonna go drink myself into a stupor. You're welcome to join me when you come down from here. Can sleep in Randy's bed."

"Won't Randy mind?" Judy asked. "You kiddin'? I tell him two hot chicks slept in his bed, he's never gonna wanna change the sheets." River answered with a laugh. "Hah, eww."

"Anyway, leave you two alone now." He stated to climb his way back down.

Judy noticed that V was still looking at the revolver on her lap. "Guess the NCPD just lost it's last honest cop."

"Guess so." V stashed the gun into the empty holster in her jacket.

They stared into the city, the holographic advertisements extending to the night sky. "The city does look pretty like this, looking at it from the outside."

"Yeah, shame knowing what happens inside those 'scrapers kinda spoils the view." Judy could hear a bit of sadness in V's reply. She moved closer to her and wrapped her arm around her waist. V returned the gesture.

"Good thing I didn't let you go here alone. Right about now River would probably be trying to hit on you, pouring his feelings out." They both laughed.

"Yeah that would have been horrible. What could I have even said? Sorry River, sure your man-bosom is impressive but I prefer actual tits."

"Oh so that's what I am to you then, a walking pair of tits?" Judy asked with an overacted huff. V very conspiciously moved her had up to grab Judy's chest. "Yup." She leaned in for a kiss while smirking.

"Anyway, doubt it would have gone like that. Think he bats for the other team."

"Think so?"

"Yeah, have you seen his whole look? The skin tight tank top, even tighter jeans, the earring..."

Judy thought about it. "Could be something to that, sure. Didn't really get that feel from him though."

"Hmm, well, what do I know. Always been bad at reading people's emotions." V answered, lost in thought.

"Yeah, you just do threat assessments." They both laughed.

"You ain't wrong Alvarez."

"So what's mine?"

"Your what?"

"Threat assessment."

V looked at her with pure adoration in her eyes. "The biggest threat I've seen in my life."

They sat there for a while side by side, heads leaning against each other. In the chaos of their lives a moment of calm like this was priceless. It was Judy who finally broke the silence.

"Should we go take River up on his offer, get a drink?"

"Sure, but before that..."

Judy could hear the seduction in V's voice, see it in her eyes.

"Wanna have sex on top of a water tower?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this became a lot longer than I intended. Wanted to make the whole thing flow naturally, and that turned into a lot of dialogue.  
> The original quest felt kinda rushed, like the devs just made "River's Romance Quest" and forgot to add options to those not interested in that route. I even made a point on my 2nd playthrough to play Judy's quests before River's to see if that changed anything, but nope. And why the hell am I suddenly talking about ex-boyfriends? Well whatever. Would just skip the quest if the damn gun wasn't one of the ones that show up on your wall.  
> Also, turns out my gaydar was way off about River on my first, blind playthrough. Thus the conversation with him possibly being gay.
> 
> This was my first time writing anything not D&D related in a long while, so any comments and/or constructive critisisms are greatly appreciated.  
> Might write some more if people liked this, got some ideas.


End file.
